How Do Mums Reproduce?

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The name "chysanthemum" is from the Greek words "chrysos," which means "gold," and "anthemon," which means "flower." With dense flower heads ranging from red to yellow, chrysanthemums, or mums (Chrysanthemum spp.), flower in fall when daylight hours decrease. The perennials are hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 9, and they reproduce in several ways, vigorously populating an area.

Seeds

Mums produce tiny seeds that drop to the ground and germinate. They do not begin growth until spring warms the ground to typically 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. In order to seed mums successfully in your garden, sow the seeds outdoors in nutrient-rich soil in May. Because of their small size, the seeds cannot be buried in the ground; they fail to produce sprouts unless they remain on the soil surface. Germination commonly takes up to three weeks in a warm and sunny location with damp soil conditions.

Cuttings

Mums have the ability to grow from stem cuttings. Each cutting should be 6 inches long and have some foliage so photosynthesis can occur; each cutting needs to produce energy through photosynthesis to generate roots. After a rooting hormone is placed on each stem's cut end, the cuttings should be pressed firmly into a clean potting medium, such as sphagnum peat moss. Keep your cuttings indoors and exposed to indirect sunlight, such as from a nearby window. Roots slowly form to produce new plants.

Division

One of the simplest ways mums can be reproduced is through division. Over the years, mum roots become tangled and clumped, making nutrient, oxygen and moisture absorption difficult. As a result, the mums do not produce as many flowers as in past years. Dig into your mum garden during spring when the plants grow actively. Carefully pull the root clumps apart, and plant them separately so you'll have more mums decorating the garden and with healthier blossoming in autumn. Reduce plant stress, however, by dividing your mums only every third or fifth year.

Pinching and Deadheading

Mums thrive when they receive five to six hours of full sunlight each day. Their vegetative growth should be pinched, of cut back, periodically in spring and early summer to encourage more flower budding points and stronger limb structures. When mums have a dense shrub appearance, they generate more flowers for seed production. Deadheading the blossoms as they fade also stimulates flower production, but doing so sacrifices the seeds in the spent blossoms. As a solution, propagate your mums through cuttings or division to keep your plants growing vigorously for many years.

About the Author

Writing professionally since 2010, Amy Rodriguez cultivates successful cacti, succulents, bulbs, carnivorous plants and orchids at home. With an electronics degree and more than 10 years of experience, she applies her love of gadgets to the gardening world as she continues her education through college classes and gardening activities.